SiYuan
by SiYuan · Privacy-first personal knowledge management built on content blocks
33.9 — BenchRank score out of 100
Screenshots of SiYuan
Homepage
Overview
SiYuan is a personal knowledge management system built around content blocks, with WYSIWYG editing, block-level references, backlinks and a relationship graph. Notes are stored on the device and work offline, with end-to-end encrypted incremental sync between devices. It also has flashcards using the FSRS algorithm, databases with relation and rollup, and an OpenAI connection for writing help.
- Best for
- Individuals who want a local-first, block-based notes app with bidirectional links and encrypted sync
- Pricing
- No prices appear in the captured text; the homepage says the download is free to use and links to a separate Pricing page that was not captured.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- Data stays on the device and works with no network
- Block-level refs, backlinks and a global link graph
- End-to-end encrypted, incremental sync between devices
- Self-hostable with Docker; LAN access from mobile browsers
Trade-offs
- AI help needs an OpenAI connection rather than a built-in model
- Mobile access over LAN requires the desktop machine to be running
- Multi-user access only via self-hosted Docker with an access code
How this score is made up
Each dimension is scored out of 100 and combined into the headline score using fixed weights.
- MCP support
- 0 out of 100
- Documentation
- 0 out of 100
- Agent friendliness
- 39 out of 100
- Customer sentiment
- 81 out of 100
- Changelog
- 100 out of 100
- Marketing site structure
- 45 out of 100
- Operational trust
- 0 out of 100
Measured, but not part of the score
Useful to know, but not a mark for or against the product — so these do not affect the ranking.
- Openness
- 40 out of 100
- Maintenance
- 100 out of 100
This doesn’t look right — report a problem with SiYuan’s score
Alternatives in Notes & Knowledge Management
Ranked 1
72.9 — BenchRank score out of 100SurfSense
SurfSense · Open-source NotebookLM alternative for live open-web research
Best for: Teams and developers who need live platform data from Reddit, YouTube and search for agent research.
Ranked 2
70.6 — BenchRank score out of 100Prismical
Prismical · Open-source AI note taker that records meetings without a bot
Best for: People wanting meeting and voice-note transcription on-device, with no bot joining the call
Ranked 3
68.8 — BenchRank score out of 100Memos
Memos · Self-hosted Markdown timeline for quick notes and snippets
Best for: Self-hosters and developers who want fast Markdown note capture on infrastructure they control.
